Too Much Doubt: Stop Death Penalty Execution of Troy Davis

This blog has been following the tragic story of Troy Davis for a couple of years now. It is a sad day in America as we learn that the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles voted to deny clemency to Troy Davis.

This means that very little is standing in the way of the state of Georgia executing a potentially innocent man this Wednesday, September 21 st at 7pm.

There is simply too much doubt in the case against Troy Davis to allow for this execution to go forward. However, it appears that the state of Georgia and Chatham County (Savannah) District Attorney Larry Chisolm don't intend to do anything to put brakes on a runaway justice system that is calling for Troy's execution. They have until the final moments before Troy's scheduled execution to put the brakes on this runaway justice system.

Amnesty International plans to fight the scheduled execution down to the last minute. This blog will join them in their call to action. We encourage all villagers to contact Georgia's District Attorney and urge him to stop the execution of Troy Davis.


Make the state of Georgia hear you! Tell them that executing Troy Davis will only deepen the cycle of violence and injustice.

Troy Davis Scheduled for Execution on September 21st

We are very sad to learn that the state of Georgia plans to execute Troy Davis on September 21st. Most villagers know that Troy Davis has been on death row in the state of Georgia since 1991. He was convicted on August 19, 1989 of the murder of Georgia police officer, Mark MacPhail.

On August 24, 2010, the conviction was upheld, with the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia declaring, “Davis is not innocent.” The judge did not say that Davis is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, implying that the standard for exoneration had been lifted unreasonably high.

The Supreme Court refused to hear his final appeal -- even though many of us feel that Troy Davis is innocent of all charges.

Georgia's Board of Pardons & Paroles will hold a final clemency hearing in the next week or so -- a final chance to prevent the execution of Troy Davis. The Board of Pardons claims that the execution would only take place if there is “no doubt” about the guilt of the man they are killing.

Many villagers think that there is 'plenty of doubt':

1. Of the nine original witnesses in the case, seven have either recanted or contradicted their original stories. One witness said in a CNN news interview "If I knew then, what I know now, Troy Davis would not be on death row."
2. Of the two witnesses who have not recanted, one of them (Sylvester Coles) was a suspect in the murder. A witness even claimed that Coles bragged at a party about having killed an off-duty police officer.
3. Nine individuals have signed affidavits indicting that the murder was committed by Sylvester Coles

Troy Davis survived three previous execution dates .... but, in order to do so again it will take action by all of us. Here are some ways that you can help.

1. Request clemency from the Board of Pardons
2. Sign Amnesty International petition to the Board of Pardons
3. Sign Your Black World petition to the Georgia Governor Nathan Deal and President Barack Obama
4. Organize locally for Troy. Sign up now to rally in the coming days to stop the execution of Troy Davis.
5. Tell everyone you know! Spread the word about this injustice on Twitter by using the hashtag #TooMuchDoubt. Be sure to tell your Facebook friends as well.
   

Please take action to help us save the life of Troy Davis.

Obama Grants Temporary Protected Status to Haitians

Obama was more active in his first year than any other president in my memory. As such, I'm not surprised that President Obama took immediate action to extend temporary protected status (TPS) to Haitians living in the U.S. This designation allows relatives living here to financially contribute to their loved ones back in Haiti.

Secretary of State Clinton and Secretary of Homeland Security Napolitano and a number of Members of Congress urgently requested temporary protected status (TPS) for Haitian immigrants and an end to discriminatory maritime interdictions. The Obama administration responded by granting temporary protected status (TPS) to Haitians in the U.S.

Take a moment to thank President Obama for making this change that could positively impact as many as 100,000 Haitians!

And use this opportunity to urge him to rescind the interdiction-at-sea policy that could return fleeing Haitians to potentially dangerous conditions, in flagrant violation of international law.

Don't Kill Troy Davis

Let me start by saying that my prayers are with the family of Mark McPhail. He is the police officer shot in August 1989 for nothing more than doing his job. Sometimes, we fail to acknowledge McPhail's family as we discuss this case.

The State of Georgia sentenced Troy Davis to the death penalty for McPhail's murder over 15 years ago. Should Troy Davis be put to death by the State of Georgia? My answer is 'No'.




There is compelling evidence that Davis did not commit the crime. I don't think that we should have any doubt about killing a man. This case is full of doubt. Unfortunately, it appears that Troy Davis is reaching the end of the line.

He lost his appeal to the federal appeals court in April. The Supreme Court jumped in about 90 minutes before Davis was set to be executed back in September 2008. However, they turned down a hearing on his appeal in October.

A 30-day stay of execution expires this weekend, prompting Amnesty International and the AfroSpear to declare today a global day of action - a time for those who hate injustice to raise our voices and save this man's life.

Troy Davis expressed his gratitude to us in interview conducted on May 17th.

Villagers, here are the basic facts of the case:

In August 1989, Davis and a running buddy named Sylvester (Red) Coles spent a riotous, hell-raising night in Savannah. Eyewitnesses say Coles shot at two of his neighbors at a house party with a chrome .38 pistol, hitting and wounding one.

Davis wasn't at that party. But he and Coles met later and wound up in the parking lot of a Burger King next to Savannah's Greyhound bus station, where one of them harassed and pistol-whipped a homeless man.

When the man yelled for help, a cop named Mark McPhail - who was moonlighting as a security guard at the bus station - came running, and was shot to death at point-blank range.

The murder weapon was never recovered, but ballistics showed it was a .38-caliber handgun.

Coles, the owner of a .38, wasn't charged. Instead, nine eyewitnesses testified at trial that Davis was the shooter.

But seven of the nine have since recanted their testimony, with several signing sworn statements that they were coerced by cops.

One recanting witness, Dorothy Ferrell, said in a sworn statement that "I was scared that if I didn't do what the police wanted me to do, then they would try to lock me up again. I was on parole at the time."

And here's witness Darrell Collins: "I was only 16 ... After a couple of hours of the detectives yelling at me and threatening me, I finally broke down ... They would tell me things that they said had happened and I would repeat whatever they said."

And so it went with seven of the nine witnesses.

Of the remaining two, one initially told police under oath that he didn't know who shot McPhail - then reversed himself on the witness stand two years later, certain that Davis was the culprit.

The only other eyewitness is Coles, who went to the police the day after the shooting, accompanied by a lawyer and claimed Davis was the killer.

Coles never mentioned that he'd been carrying a .38-caliber pistol that night.

"[The police] bought Mr. Coles' story hook, line and sinker," Davis' attorneys argued in court. "And they went out into this community, and they rounded up witnesses everywhere they could find them, and they paraded them in here."

Three new witnesses now claim they heard Coles later take credit for the murder. But none of the new witnesses or sworn recantations have ever been heard in any court - and probably never will be.

The only remaining hope is a pardon from Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue - an act of mercy we should all demand to rescue Davis from an unjust death.

Other Available Resources:

1. Download a fact sheet on Davis' case


2. Read more about innocence on Georgia's death row


3. Where is the justice for me?: The case of Troy Davis, facing execution in Georgia


4. Listen to Troy tell his story


5. View the facts and timeline


6. Join the international discussion


7. Hear from Troy's sister


8. Visit Troy Davis' website

Next step is yours. How are you raising your voice in protest today?

Immigration Detention: 'Jailed Without Justice'

I encourage villagers to join with Amnesty International to call on the Department of Homeland Security to make U.S. immigration detention standards enforceable, and to use alternatives to detention in a meaningful way.

Over 30,000 immigrants are detained EVERY DAY. This is triple the number detained just ten years ago. Immigrants can be detained for months or years without any meaningful judicial review - this despite international human rights standards requiring judicial review.

Amnesty International has a 56-page report, entitled Jailed Without Justice that shares horrific stories of detention abuse and mismanagement here in the United States. For example, Mr. N, a Buddhist monk, fled to the U.S. after he was tortured in Tibet for his religious beliefs. When he arrived in New York, he was immediately detained and never had a chance to argue for his case before a judge. After 10 months in detention, he was finally granted asylum.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) could issue new regulations that would quickly solve many of these problems. But instead, just three weeks ago, the office in charge of these policies testified before Congress that it plans to detain almost a hundred thousand more immigrants this year than last.

Villagers, please tell Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano that this is wrong and that she should take steps to fix this flawed system.

What say u?

Am I Not Human? Stop Violence Against Women in the Congo

Our blog participates in the 'Am I Not Human?' blogging campaign on the 27th of each month. This month we want to raise awareness and urge action to end the devastating violence toward women in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Amnesty International is partnering with the ENOUGH campaign and others in the fight to stop violence against women in the DRC.

I encourage all villagers to take action.

• Sign the petition to protect women in eastern Congo
  
• Read more about the Raise Hope for Congo campaign

What say u?

Case Study: The Death of Darryl Turner

Amnesty International is tracking taser abuse as a human rights abuse issue in the United States. Since June 2001, more than 320 individuals in the United States have died after being shocked by police TASERs. Most of those individuals were not carrying a weapon. Amnesty International is concerned that TASERs are being used as tools of routine force -- rather than as an alternative to firearms.

They recently posted a case study about the taser-related death of Darryl Turner.

Darryl Turner, age 17, died in March 2008 after he was shocked by an officer from the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department in North Carolina. Turner, who worked in a grocery store, reportedly went home for lunch with two snacks for which he had not paid. His mother told him to return to the store and admit what he had done.

When he returned to work he got into an argument with the store manager. A store video recording of the incident shows that Turner entered the store's customer service area and pushed an object off the counter. He walked out but came back into the room and pointed at the manager. A police officer entered the room with his TASER, which he immediately fired at Turner, who was standing behind the counter with his hands at his side. There was no visible attempt by the officer to talk to the teenager or calm the situation. With the TASER probes in his chest, Turner moved past the officer, after which he reportedly collapsed out of view of the camera.

Downloaded data from the officer's TASER shows that he held the trigger down for 37 continuous seconds until Turner collapsed -- and shocked him again when he was on the floor. Attempts to revive Turner were unsuccessful. The coroner later ruled cause of death to be a fatal disturbance of the heart rhythm due to stress and the TASER shocks. A police investigation subsequently ruled that the officer's initial decision to use the TASER was within departmental procedures, but that holding down the trigger was not justified. The officer was suspended for five days.

Amnesty International Issues 100-Day Human Rights Challenge to Barack Obama

Many of you know that this blog participates in a human rights campaign on the 27th of each month. As such, I read with interest the recent efforts of Amnesty International to urge U.S. President-elect Barack Obama to make human rights central to his new administration. The organization is calling for certain concrete steps in his first 100 days in office that would demonstrate a genuine commitment to bringing the United States into line with its international obligations.

Specifically, they want the new administration to:

1. Announce a plan and date to close Guantanamo


2. Issue an executive order to ban torture and other ill-treatment, as defined under international law


3. Ensure that an independent commission to investigate abuses committed by the U.S. government in its "war on terror" is set up.

These demands are part of a "checklist" of actions Amnesty International is asking the new U.S. President to take during the first 100 days in office.

Personally, I'm in agreement with all three requests ('demands') being made by Amnesty International. As such, I plan to sign their online petition. I invite villagers to click here to learn more.

A Letter From Troy Davis

The following letter was written by Troy Davis on September 22. Two hours before he was to be executed, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a stay of execution to consider his appeal. Their decision is expected soon.

Stop the execution of Troy Davis!

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To all,

I want to thank all of you for your efforts and dedication to Human Rights and Human Kindness, in the past year I have experienced such emotion, joy, sadness and never ending faith.

It is because of all of you that I am alive today, as I look at my sister Martina I am marveled by the love she has for me and of course I worry about her and her health, but as she tells me she is the eldest and she will not back down from this fight to save my life and prove to the world that I am innocent of this terrible crime.

As I look at my mail from across the globe, from places I have never ever dreamed I would know about and people speaking languages and expressing cultures and religions I could only hope to one day see first hand. I am humbled by the emotion that fills my heart with overwhelming, overflowing Joy.

I can't even explain the insurgence of emotion I feel when I try to express the strength I draw from you all, it compounds my faith and it shows me yet again that this is not a case about the death penalty, this is not a case about Troy Davis, this is a case about Justice and the Human Spirit to see Justice prevail.

I cannot answer all of your letters but I do read them all, I cannot see you all but I can imagine your faces, I cannot hear you speak but your letters take me to the far reaches of the world, I cannot touch you physically but I feel your warmth everyday I exist.

So Thank you and remember I am in a place where execution can only destroy your physical form but because of my faith in God, my family and all of you I have been spiritually free for some time and no matter what happens in the days, weeks to come, this Movement to end the death penalty, to seek true justice, to expose a system that fails to protect the innocent must be accelerated.

There are so many more Troy Davis'. This fight to end the death penalty is not won or lost through me but through our strength to move forward and save every innocent person in captivity around the globe. We need to dismantle this Unjust system city by city, state by state and country by country.

I can't wait to Stand with you, no matter if that is in physical or spiritual form, I will one day be announcing, "I AM TROY DAVIS, and I AM FREE!"

Never Stop Fighting for Justice and We will Win!

-- Troy Davis

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I appreciate Amnesty International for taking up this cause. Keep the young brother in your prayers. He deserves a chance for true justice.

Am I Not Human? Bombing Darfur

Drumbeats from Amnesty International tell us that the Sudanese government used a Russian-made Antonov plane with the “UN” symbol on its wing to drop bombs on Darfur. This act shows that the Sudanese government does not intend to comply with the UN arms embargo. This is a clear violation of international humanitarian law and a clear example of why the current UN arms embargo needs to be expanded to cover all of Sudan.

Amnesty International issued its new report Blood at the Crossroads with accounts of Russian and Chinese weapons used to violate human rights in Darfur. In one case, the report describes Russian-supplied Mi-24 attack helicopters being delivered to the Sudanese government in 2006. Since then, the Sudanese government has used these helicopters in indiscriminate aerial attacks in Darfur.

It is undeniably clear that the current UN arms embargo cannot effectively restrain the arms flow into Darfur. At the same time, Sudanese armed opposition groups in Darfur are allegedly receiving their weapons from Chad. The innocent people of Darfur are left in the middle of this conflict.

With our encouragement, our Senator and Representatives can help stem the flow of weapons to Sudan. Senate Resolution 660 and House Resolution 1462 1) condemn the ongoing flow of weapons into Darfur and 2) call for an expansion of the UN arms embargo to cover all of Sudan. Leadership from the United States is necessary to signal to the rest of the world that ongoing violence in Darfur will not be tolerated.

Take action to stop the flow of weapons into Darfur.

Call on investors: stand up for human rights in Darfur

We all know how our nation's dependence on foreign oil is bringing our economy to its knees. It turns out that the U.S. isn't the only country with a troubling dependence on oil.

In Sudan, the dependence on oil is literally a matter of life and death. We can use that dependence on oil to our advantage in the continuing struggle to end the human rights violations in Sudan.

I encourage all villagers to press some of the most powerful companies in the world to use their influence to help end the human rights catastrophe in Darfur. We need corporations to help ensure the speedy and full deployment of the UN-African Union peacekeeping force (UNAMID) in Darfur. Khartoum must hear from key economic interests, including the oil companies that they depend on for revenue. To convince these oil companies to act, we must enlist their investors as our allies.

In the past year Amnesty International had success working with several top U.S. investment firms, including Morgan Stanley and T. Rowe Price, who have committed to raising concerns about Darfur with oil companies in which they are invested.

Perhaps it is time for us to add our voices. Perhaps, we can convince even those companies that ignore us to take a similar stand.

I encourage you to send email or letter to investors in Sudan’s oil industry. Ask them to follow the lead of companies like Morgan Stanley and T. Rowe Price to take a stand for the people of Darfur.

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NOTE: Please support efforts of the Roots of Humanity blog to call attention to human rights abuses all over the world. Join us on the 27th of each month as we shine the light on human rights abuses by asking the simple question, 'Am I Not Human?'

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The next step is yours. What say u?